"People who make their lives count treat college as the start line, not the finish line. What they do in their formative years matters more than where

Where did Minnesota's top CEOs go to college? Hint: not the Ivy League.

Students may feel like successful careers hinge on getting into an elite school, but the evidence shows otherwise.

Amid ascendant nationalism, Olympics' internationalism endures

5:30pm
Greece's team goes down the Seine River in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 26.
Twelve athletes with Minnesota ties will compete for Team USA while 16 will join their home countries' squads as Paris welcomes the world.

What America needs to know about Tim Walz of Minnesota

July 25
Gov. Tim Walz took the first questions on speculation that he is under consideration as vice presidential running mate for Kamala Harris July 23.
The many things not to celebrate.

More Opinion

Carrie Bates
5:30pm
Simone Biles is introduced as a member of the USA Olympic team during the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials at Target Center in Minneapolis on June 30.

As a gold medalist, I know: The focus on mental health in sports has improved

The consequences of the relentless pursuit of excellence remain, but now are understood.
Shannon Smith Jones and Kizzy Downie
July 25
The Minnesota Department of Transportation clears and vacates the homeless encampment at E. Lake St and Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis on Feb. 7, 2023

Compassion, not punishment, is key to ending homelessness

Yet the U.S. Supreme Court in its recently concluded term made it harder.
Maggie Hennefeld
July 25
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with Essence CEO Caroline Wanga during the 30th annual Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans, July 6.

'Make America Laugh Again'

How the exuberance of Kamala Harris is turning into a symbol of collective healing.
Jessica Bennett
July 25
Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the former speaker of the House, arrives at a House Democratic Caucus meeting in Washington, on July 9.

The most ruthless political operator in the country is a woman

The supreme gratification of watching Nancy Pelosi go to work.
Peter Hutchinson
July 24
"The social contract may be broken, but we aren’t," the writer says.

In America, we are unmoored

But what if politics is the symptom, not the cause?
Tony Jurgens
July 24
President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base, in Dover, Del., July 23.

It's wrong to call Biden's withdrawal from the race heroic

How he and his closest supporters have handled his decline prevented the democratic process from working as it should.
Gerald Posner and Mark Zaid
July 24
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle responds to questions as she testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the

Secret Service has failed Americans since the Trump shooting

Conspiracy theorists have been able to fill the information void with their own versions of the truth.
Kristen Soltis Anderson
July 23
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her presidential campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Del., on July 22. On her first full day in the race, Harr

What polling tells us about a Kamala Harris candidacy

Sorting out whether she's an upgrade for Democrats.
Steven Schier
July 23
Gov. Tim Walz is interviewed remotely by a cable news channel July 17. "The Harris campaign reportedly is doing a background check of only a few possi

The pros and cons of Tim Walz as a potential vice presidential nominee

Though not the most charismatic of politicians, he's a proven vote-getter. But: The 2020 riots present opponents with a way to portray him.
Noah Feldman
July 23
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks at a campaign rally at Radford University on July 22 in Radford, Va.

Why Yale Law is so good at producing reactionaries like JD Vance

Though it's a mostly liberal school — or perhaps because of it — the conservatives it graduates are influential.
Julia Decker
July 22
The confluence of the I-35W and I-94 freeways during afternoon rush hour June 27 in Minneapolis.

How to help Minnesota drivers burdened by the price of auto insurance

Factors that don't reflect their record on the roads can lead to rates they can't afford. There's a solution.
John Hoffman
July 22
People demonstrated in front of the Greyhound Bus station on Nov. 3, 1989. They were protesting Greyhounds opposition to the Americans with Disabiliti

Celebrating 34 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Minnesota's progress has been significant, too, but there's more it can do.
Ken Martin
July 22
"During my 13 years as DFL chair, I have always been able to rely on [Rep. Ilhan] Omar," Ken Martin writes. "I trust her to support our shared, progre

State DFL chair: Omar is the choice in the Fifth District — literally, and with good reason

She won the endorsement because, unlike her opponent, she works tirelessly to unite the party.
Steven Hill
July 22
"So yes, inflation is down, but many people don’t notice because food prices are still high, partly due to several years of price gouging by monopol

Soaring grocery prices are not acts of God

They may be acts of monopolization and the profit motive.
Robin Epley
July 21
Vice President Kamala Harris boarded Air Force Two on July 13. On Sunday, President Joe Biden told the nation he was no longer seeking re-election and

Kamala Harris can beat Donald Trump

(And prove America is ready for a woman president.)
Cory Franklin
July 21
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the White House, appears during a press conference in Washington on Nov. 22, 2022.

Fauci made mistakes, but prosecution isn't warranted

Here are his pandemic missteps and why trying to criminalize them is a bad way to go.
Ann Bailey
July 21
"Communities are at their best when all ages can thrive. So why does the topic of aging often make us uncomfortable?"

Let's reverse our thinking about aging, so that it's a celebration

Let's value those who've made it there, along with the gifts they offer us all.
David Hann
July 20
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks with Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), the Republican vice presidential nominee, afte

What Republicans ask you to consider this election season

Our party believes in a nation of people who share commonalities. Our competitor does not.
Ron Way
July 19
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara speaks to the media near Webber Parkway and Colfax Avenue North Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023 in Minneapolis.

Policing in Minneapolis: Reform, it seems, is always around the corner

As the city embarks on another chapter of that, it's worth asking: What makes a good cop?
Lara Bergman
July 18
"It is our responsibility as a city to see that every single child that enters the doors of our public schools comes out with everything they need to

Counterpoint: Minneapolis school closures not yet a done deal

There's a necessary discussion, though, and challenges that require us to take our responsibilities seriously.
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